"The Companion claimed that it could not cure Nancy Hedford's illness. Yet, when it elected to merge with her, it clearly did cure her illness. One possibility is that it could effect sure a cure only in the process of this sort of union, that cost it all of its extraordinary powers, including its immortality – a price it wasn't prepared to pay until Kirk bounded its choices by explaining how the differences between it and Cochrane would keep them forever apart. Another possibility is that it saw Nancy Hedford – the only other female on the planetoid – as competition for Cochrane, and was prepared to allow her to die, to eliminate that hazard to its relationship with him."

It comes across as more as original research, or at least drawing its own conclusion, rather than being something of a production, or "true" background nature. --Alan 03:30, February 15, 2010 (UTC)